Settled on just four fountain pens

[AimlessWanderer]

Please excuse the poor quality pictures, but these four budget pens are what I've been quite settled on for the past year or two.

So settled in fact, that I can't even remember what two of them are. The top is an OHTO Tasche, which is an excellent little pocket pen in my opinion, and the bottom is a Baoer 388. I only know those two, because it's written on them

I think the other two might be Wing Sung, but I can't be certain.

I normally only have two inked at any time, but all four are inked at the moment. They have been excellent workhorses, and simply due the job needed, with no fuss or fanfare.

Three take cartridge or converter (cartridge only for the Tasche), and I refill these with a syringe. Even the converters. It's a lot less mess, less wasteful, and a lot easier when using the small Diamine bottles. Those small bottles have quite a narrow neck, limiting how deep you can put a pen in. Also, being opaque, you can't see if it's gone deep enough. I keep a small sample bottle around for filling the transparent one from, as it's slightly wider, and I can see what's happening.

I wanted to start with cheapies, to see if fountain pens were "for me", and frankly, not only are they entry level pens, they're such good tools, I don't want to upgrade. I actually have four spares of the stainless one, plus a couple of spares of the clear one. Unless I lose one, I don't see me needing to dig out any of those spares anytime soon.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Nice choice of inks, I also use a syringe to refill converters. At the moment I have two Pelikans inked with both the green and the dark brown; love Diamine inks. My favorite blue is their regency Blue (triangle bottle).

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Nice choice of inks, I also use a syringe to refill converters. At the moment I have two Pelikans inked with both the green and the dark brown; love Diamine inks. My favorite blue is their regency Blue (triangle bottle).

I think I'll have to move to the larger bottles in time. I'm happy enough with the Sherwood Green and Burnt Sienna to move to the larger bottles of those next time. Possibly the Grape too.

These are what I have now. The one that's blanked out was Amaranth, and I didn't like it. Too pink, so I dumped some Grape in it.

I've just stocked up with cartridges again, as I'd run out. I keep those in different colours to the bottles. I have these three packs of 18 cartridges...

... and threw these in as well.

That'll keep me going for another couple of years, easily. I don't like to own too much at once, and that's a comfortable level for me.

 

[Doc4]

I think the other two might be Wing Sung, but I can't be certain.

the "Diamine burnt sienna" pen is either a LAMY Safari or (more likely) a Chinese knock-off.

 

[razorboi]

If you are truly able to successfully resist the urge to accumulate more fountain pens, there are many at The Nib who would love to learn your secret!

 

[GeronimoWSB]

Thanks for the write up. I recently have gotten into fountains. Currently 2 moonmans and a jinhao with Bobby tip. One bottle of Platinum carbon ink black. I just need to use them more.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

the "Diamine burnt sienna" pen is either a LAMY Safari or (more likely) a Chinese knock-off.

Definitely a knock off. I just can't remember which one

 

[AimlessWanderer]

If you are truly able to successfully resist the urge to accumulate more fountain pens, there are many at The Nib who would love to learn your secret!

No big secret, really. I just spent too much money in the past, on stuff that didn't get enough use. Plus, I personally wouldn't get any additional value from paying £50-£100 for a pen.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I should probably add at this point, that none of these fountain pens are used if the ink needs to have any real permanence. While waterproof and permanent inks can be had for nibbed pens, I don't care for the additional maintenance concerns, and opt for using ballpoints instead.

That applies to official forms, envelopes, and mailing labels. While I own and use fountain pens, I have no qualms about reaching for other writing tools should I deem them more appropriate for the task at hand.

 

[gwsmallwood]

I've been experimenting with the cheapies as well, but I haven't been quite as successful. I've only found a couple that just work well from the start with no nib or flow issues. One of them is the Wing Sung 3008, which is similar to your clear pen, which I'm guessing is a 3009. I did choose a Hugo Boss pen as a work anniversary award recently, which is my most expensive pen. My current go-to rotation.

• Hugo Boss Pillar Medium
• Pilot Metropolitan Stub
• Pilot Metropolitan Medium
• Wing Sung 3008 Extra Fine

I have a Cross Apogee that needs a new nib (which is on the Christmas list) and I have a handful of sub $50 pens on the Christmas list as well. I think I prefer the pens in the $25 - $50 range. Any more than that and I would be too worried about damaging them to use them like they deserve.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

I've been experimenting with the cheapies as well, but I haven't been quite as successful. I've only found a couple that just work well from the start with no nib or flow issues. One of them is the Wing Sung 3008, which is similar to your clear pen, which I'm guessing is a 3009. I did choose a Hugo Boss pen as a work anniversary award recently, which is my most expensive pen. My current go-to rotation.

• Hugo Boss Pillar Medium
• Pilot Metropolitan Stub
• Pilot Metropolitan Medium
• Wing Sung 3008 Extra Fine

I have a Cross Apogee that needs a new nib (which is on the Christmas list) and I have a handful of sub $50 pens on the Christmas list as well. I think I prefer the pens in the $25 - $50 range. Any more than that and I would be too worried about damaging them to use them like they deserve.

Not all mine worked perfectly out of the box/envelope. Some took a little coaxing, but I've totally lost track of which pen needed what action. There wasn't anything major required on any of them though, just simple stuff that even a clueless numpty like me can figure out. A little fine tuning of nibs, by writing on fine emery, and one or two needed a slight feed tweak, by running a sharp knife lightly down the feed groove. I don't mind doing that with a pen that costs the same as a beer or two

 

[MilkCrate]

I currently have a Pilot Metropolitan Medium and a Nemosine Fission Fine. Now I am working on finding my ink of choice.

 

[Slivovitz]

I should probably add at this point, that none of these fountain pens are used if the ink needs to have any real permanence. While waterproof and permanent inks can be had for nibbed pens, I don't care for the additional maintenance concerns, and opt for using ballpoints instead...That applies to official forms, envelopes, and mailing labels. While I own and use fountain pens, I have no qualms about reaching for other writing tools should I deem them more appropriate for the task at hand.

A reasonable attitude. I'll use the occasional ballpoint also, although more for writing on paper that isn't fountain pen friendly. I prefer gel pens to ballpoints where a fountain pen isn't best, and ballpoints to nothing where a gel pen won't work either.

Water resistant inks for fountain pens don't necessarily need to be anything exotic or maintenance intensive, though. And ballpoint inks, although more of them are probably water resistant in general, are worth testing if you're going to rely on them. More on that in a little bit.

For fountain pen inks, I have found ordinary Namiki Blue and Pilot Blue-Black to be quite water resistant by my own tests, and generally have at least one pen filled with at least one of those. They are not actually advertised as water resistant, either, and don't seem to cause any particular maintenance issues. If you're talking about iron gall inks, or inks like Platinum's carbon ones, then you are probably right about the need to flush out your pens more often, although that's more what others tell me than actual experience.

A number of years ago, I did my own non-scientific water resistance tests. I put writing samples from all the fountain pen inks that I had at the time on a piece of paper, gave it a few minutes to dry, and then ran the tap on it, soaking the paper. I then put it written side down on a paper towel to dry. Of course, some of then inks disappeared, some smeared or blurred badly, but a few were barely affected.

While I was at it, I thought I might as well try the same things with all the ballpoints and gel pens I had in the house. I did find that most of the ballpoint inks were very water resistant, but some faded, ran, or even disappeared. It seemed that the least water resistant ones tended to be the colors other than the basic blue or black. With gel pens, most, but not all, of the black inks were water resistant, many of the other colors were not.

No, I didn't preserve a record of exactly what ink did what, but for everyday use, I know which ones I can rely on. If you have a particular reason for wanting water resistance, it wouldn't hurt to test samples even of your ballpoint inks, although you'll probably find that they're fine.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

A reasonable attitude. I'll use the occasional ballpoint also, although more for writing on paper that isn't fountain pen friendly. I prefer gel pens to ballpoints where a fountain pen isn't best, and ballpoints to nothing where a gel pen won't work either.

Water resistant inks for fountain pens don't necessarily need to be anything exotic or maintenance intensive, though. And ballpoint inks, although more of them are probably water resistant in general, are worth testing if you're going to rely on them. More on that in a little bit.

For fountain pen inks, I have found ordinary Namiki Blue and Pilot Blue-Black to be quite water resistant by my own tests, and generally have at least one pen filled with at least one of those. They are not actually advertised as water resistant, either, and don't seem to cause any particular maintenance issues. If you're talking about iron gall inks, or inks like Platinum's carbon ones, then you are probably right about the need to flush out your pens more often, although that's more what others tell me than actual experience.

A number of years ago, I did my own non-scientific water resistance tests. I put writing samples from all the fountain pen inks that I had at the time on a piece of paper, gave it a few minutes to dry, and then ran the tap on it, soaking the paper. I then put it written side down on a paper towel to dry. Of course, some of then inks disappeared, some smeared or blurred badly, but a few were barely affected.

While I was at it, I thought I might as well try the same things with all the ballpoints and gel pens I had in the house. I did find that most of the ballpoint inks were very water resistant, but some faded, ran, or even disappeared. It seemed that the least water resistant ones tended to be the colors other than the basic blue or black. With gel pens, most, but not all, of the black inks were water resistant, many of the other colors were not.

No, I didn't preserve a record of exactly what ink did what, but for everyday use, I know which ones I can rely on. If you have a particular reason for wanting water resistance, it wouldn't hurt to test samples even of your ballpoint inks, although you'll probably find that they're fine.

Valid points. I just assume (rightly or wrongly) that my regular blue and black ballpoints will be more permanent than the fountain pen inks, rather than totally waterproof.

As to the maintenance concerns, I can often go a while without doing much writing, or find I've gravitated towards using just one pen for a while. Anything that's not being used, and is out of awareness for any length of time, is at risk of drying out. If any of my current inks happen to do that (it hasn't happened often), I'm confident I can remedy that quite easily. Waterproof inks are liable to make that task harder, while not giving me any significant benefit in use. That's my thinking anyway, so I stick to standard Diamine. I don't see any reason to add potential complexity.

As to flushing, I only tend to do that if changing inks. If I'm not using a pen, I don't generally spare it a second thought, so the thought of flushing a pen I don't plan to use, doesn't come on the radar.

 

[Doc4]

I personally wouldn't get any additional value from paying £50-£100 for a pen.

Nothing wrong with that.

Finding one's sweet spot for pen price is kind of like finding one's sweet spot for the price of a wristwatch or automobile. A $15 Metropolitan is going to put the ink on the page ... a $50 Timex is going to keep time ... a $20,000 used Toyota is going to get you from home to work and back again ... just as well as a $500 Montblanc, $5,000 Rolex, or $100,000 Lexus.

A $10 bottle of generic Portugese red wine will get you as drunk as a $1500 bottle of Latour.

There are "other aspects" of the more expensive versions (both the ones listed and everywhere in between) that may or may not be worth paying for ... and that's a personal preference sort of thing.

none of these fountain pens are used if the ink needs to have any real permanence. While waterproof and permanent inks can be had for nibbed pens, I don't care for the additional maintenance concerns, and opt for using ballpoints instead.

I have no qualms about reaching for other writing tools should I deem them more appropriate for the task at hand.

I have certain pen and ink combinations that work exceptionally well to provide permanence and haven't had a problem with additional maintenance concerns.

The only places I find that fountain pens don't work, and I need to go for a "modern" option, is with either multi-layer "press through" carbon-copy documents on the one hand, and glossy paper greeting cards on the other.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

There are "other aspects" of the more expensive versions (both the ones listed and everywhere in between) that may or may not be worth paying for ... and that's a personal preference sort of thing.

Totally agree. I'm just the wrong person for those products.

I have certain pen and ink combinations that work exceptionally well to provide permanence and haven't had a problem with additional maintenance concerns.

The only places I find that fountain pens don't work, and I need to go for a "modern" option, is with either multi-layer "press through" carbon-copy documents on the one hand, and glossy paper greeting cards on the other.

Ah. I haven't encountered the greetings card issue yet. I did use a lot of carbon copy type documents at work in the past, so I fully recognise that issue.

 

[KW Driver]

I’ve got 3 primaries and an alternate as my go to‘s. Two Estabrook SJs, with an XF and F stub respectively, and a TWSBI 530 mini XF as a go to pocket pen/leaves the house with me. All three have ESS Registrar’s loaded. the alternate is a Kaweco demonstrator with Nooder’s Heart of Darkness, because they don’t like IG inks.

my uninked keepers are a couple Sheaffer Imperials with XF nibs, and my grandfather’s P51. And I keep a couple Fisher Space pens for ballpoint backups in the truck/house.

I’ve kept pens loaded with R&H Salix and Scabiosa, and the ESS for years now with no issues. Diamine’s Registrar’s left a lot of residual gunk in the bottle and I like ESS much better so I was done with it after that bottle. Noddler’s HoD bottle is 8 yrs old and I have had no issues with it either, beyond some potential staining on an eyedroppered demonstrator body. If they sit long enough to dry out the nib, a water wetted q-tip along the top and bottom of the nib usually gets them flowing again without further effort. I’ve never had to flush/soak an IG inked pen. If I haven’t had a q-tip handy, a licked thumb/finger pad worked.

if I ever have to do carbon forms again, I actually have an Estabrook carbon nib that’s impressively smooth and strong.

 

[Doc4]

All three have ESS Registrar’s loaded.

That is great stuff!

If they sit long enough to dry out the nib, a water wetted q-tip along the top and bottom of the nib usually gets them flowing again without further effort.

My usual course of action is to stick the nib under some running water for a few seconds, and then gently encase and rub the nib with tissue paper. Gets it back going just fine.

 

[GeronimoWSB]

Fwiw the jinhao pen I received with a 'bobby' nib, is much better than I expected. Smooth as silk. He shipped the pen from china to the Midwest is about ten days. He has an Etsy shop. I will be back at his shop. Can anyone recommend a cobalt blue or emerald green ? Or just grab a couple from the better brands?

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Fwiw the jinhao pen I received with a 'bobby' nib, is much better than I expected. Smooth as silk. He shipped the pen from china to the Midwest is about ten days. He has an Etsy shop. I will be back at his shop. Can anyone recommend a cobalt blue or emerald green ? Or just grab a couple from the better brands?

I use one of these nail buffer thingies for sorting any initial nib issues out. It's never failed me yet. It fixes any minor "baby's bottom" issues on the nibs so it flows properly, removes any scratchy corners, and polishes it up to get the right bite or feedback.

By cobalt blue and emerald green, are you referring to inks or pen bodies?